You’re still throwing out used tea bags? I can assure you that after reading this you will not throw away a single used tea bag again.

Most of us know the healing properties of tea, but not many know that previously used tea bags can be useful in many different ways.

1. Get Rid of Acne

Acne can manifest for a variety of reasons (click here to learn more) but tea bags will give you relief! Place already used tea bags on the affected area(s). It will help you get rid of acne anywhere on your body. Green tea is a top choice for this use. In fact, this study found a 70% reduction of sebum after 8 weeks of using green tea topically. Excess sebum production is a problem for every acne patient. Sebum is a natural moisturizer that your body secrets. It can cause or aggravate acne when it is overproduced.

2. Mitigate Sunburns

If you got a little too much exposure and turned beet red using tea bags topically can give you quick relief. Place the used tea bags on the affected area to cool it down and aid the healing process. Black tea works especially well. Follow this link for full instructions at the bottom of the article.

3. Marinate Meat

In order to prevent meat from becoming tough marinate it with already used teabags. The tea’s aroma will make the meat taste richer and it will also make it softer.

4. Freshen Your Clothes And Shoes

Store previously used and dried teabags in the closet in order to make your clothes smell fresher. You can also put one of these bags in each shoe. It will get rid of the unpleasant smell in no time.

5. Relieve Mouth Cuts and Sores

If you have a wound or sore inside your mouth, bite down on a previously used teabag. The tea’s compounds will relieve the pain and it will speed up the healing process.

6. Clean Your Home

Tea can clean dirty mirrors, floors and even linoleum.

7. Get Rid of The Redness on Your Eyes

Put a couple of teabags in cold water and let them soak for 2 minutes. Place them onto your eyelids. Let them rest there for a couple of minutes. After you put them away the redness will be gone and your eyes will look fresher and more youthful.

8.) Use Them to Keep Your Garden Healthy

Tea bags make a wonderful addition to your compost or soil. You can also add them to compost tea, or simple steep used tea bags and feed your plants with the water. Organic gardeners report that feeding your plants with tea or adding tea bags to the soil repels root maggots effectively. Be sure to use pesticide-free brands. Some good choices are listed below.

Choose Toxin-Free Teas

Cleanplates.com compiled this awesome list of non-toxic tea brands. Make sure you’re using one of the teas below or can verify that it is not full of pesticides or toxins. Big thanks to cleanplates.com!

Bagged organic tea. The following are all free of epichlorohydrin, as well as pesticides and artificial flavorings:

Numi Tea. Confirms a company rep, “Our teas are pesticide-free and non-GMO verified, and our tea bags are made from manila hemp cellulose, and free of epichlorohydrin. The tags are made from 100% recycled material and soy-based inks.”

Rishi Tea. Rishi’s certified organic teas are bagged with PLA—polylactic acid, creating “silken” bags. Unlike other “silky” bags, which can be made with PET plastic, these are corn- and potato starch-based. Adds Assistant Tea Buyer Jeff Champeau, “Our Natural Fiber Loose Leaf Tea Filters are made without glue or any other binding agent.”

EDEN Organic. Confirms company rep Wendy Esko, “The bags are made from oxygen washed manila fibers with no polluting whiteners used. Once filled, the bags are crimped and sealed with 100% cotton string. No staples, plastics, or glue are ever used.”

Organic Stash. “The filter paper used for Stash Tea bags is made from 100% cellulose fibers (wood) and is made to appear white by forcing air between the fibers. No bleach is used,” explains Stash’s website. “The filter paper is not coated with the compound called epichlorohydrin, and does not contain any free epichlorohydrin.”

Choice Organic Teas. One of the company’s consumer relations experts, Nia, assured Clean Plates that all Choice Teas are not only organic but free of epichlorohydrin.

Two Leaves organic teas. Says a company rep, “We pride ourselves on being pesticide-free as well as on having corn-based tea sachets.” The website adds, “Our sachets are made of biodegradable cornstarch based nylon, not petroleum based nylon.”

Organic Tazo. “We’ve checked with our teabag suppliers,” says a spokesperson for Starbucks (Tazo’s owner), “and they have confirmed that the only teabags we sell (our Tazo sachets or paper filterbags) do not use epichlorohydrin.”

Organic Traditional Medicinals. We’ve confirmed that this brand is epichlorohydrin-free. From Traditional Medicinals’ website: “Our herbal teas are put into unbleached tea bags made from abacá (Musa textilis), also sometimes known as manila hemp. The tea bags are attached with aluminum staple wire to teabag string made of raw cotton (Gossypium spp.) and a paper tea tag.”

Organic Yogi Teas.Writes a Yogi Tea rep, “We currently use a non-heat sealable filtration paper made from a select blend of high quality manila hemp (abaca) fibers and wood pulp. The filtration paper does not contain epichlorohydrin, nor plastic or polypropylene. It is oxygen bleached using a natural process that is completely free of chemicals or toxins, including dioxin.”

Bagged conventional tea.

Tetley Black & Green tea. Tetley’s new Black & Green (a blend of both varieties) uses Perflo paper bags, which are free of epichlorohydrin. The tea is also free of pesticides.

Loose organic tea. By straining your own instead of paying for packaging, you’ll get more cups for your bucks. A to-go tea strainer like the VALERY makes it easy.